[Pollinator] Fwd: Pollinators & Smuggling: TX man pleads guilty to smuggling dead hummingbirds

[De Angelis, Patricia]

We have a couple books by Grant on flowering plants and speciation. I
didn't know about that book. Thank you!

Patricia S. De Angelis, Ph.D.
Botanist, Division of Scientific Authority-US Fish & Wildlife
Service-International Affairs
Chair, Medicinal Plant Working Group-Plant Conservation Alliance
5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: IA
Falls Church, VA 22041-3803
703-358-1708 x 1753
703-358-2276 (FAX)


On Thu, Sep 4, 2014 at 4:41 PM, Peter Bernhardt <bernhap2 at slu.edu> wrote:

> Dear Lisa and Patricia:
>
> A classic book to read is "Hummingbirds and their Flowers" by Verne and
> Karen Grant (former Professors at the U. of Texas at Austin). This was one
> of the first books to consider the evolutionary and ecological impact of
> hummingbirds on the flora North of our Mexican border.  It has been years
> since I read it but I recall that 6 hummingbird species migrate north in
> the United States.  All but one or two species nest west of the Mississippi
> with California and the American southwest the center of their diversity in
> the Spring and summer.
>
> In Australia, these days, some bird pollinators may be "spoiled" by
> people.  The birds expect nectar substitutes and people give it to them
> although they may not be healthy and lead to fatal, fungal infections.  Go
> to Youtube and enter the word, lorrikeet, and you will see what I mean.
>  Below, is a link to one of the few Youtube videos showing a rainbow
> lorrikeet foraging naturally on a native red-orange Eucalyptus species.
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHq-ao2GZv0
>
> Peter
>
>
> On Thu, Sep 4, 2014 at 2:24 PM, Lisa Horth <lisahorth at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Thanks for sharing this.
>>
>> A good example of a Lacey Act violation for my 40 conservation biology
>> students, who will learn about this next week!
>>
>> Lisa
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Sep 4, 2014 at 11:30 AM, De Angelis, Patricia <
>> patricia_deangelis at fws.gov> wrote:
>>
>>>  Hummingbirds, important pollinators for a variety of flowers, shrubs,
>>> and trees,* are being affected by the illegal wildlife trade.  The entire
>>> family Trochilidae (=all hummingbirds) has been protected under the
>>> Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
>>> Flora (CITES) since 1987. This means  that international trade in the
>>> species is not allowed without a permit that signifies that the trade
>>> conforms to national laws of the country of origin and that the trade is
>>> not detrimental to the survival of the species in the wild.  The Lacey Act
>>> makes it illegal to export, sell, acquire or purchase fish, wildlife or
>>> plants in violation of any laws (domestic or foreign) pertaining to said
>>> taxa. Hummingbirds are also protected under the Wild Bird Conservation Act
>>> to ensure that bird species are not harmed by international trade.  Two
>>> foreign species of hummingbird are listed under the U.S. Endangered Species
>>> Act as 'Endangered' and 'Proposed Endangered.'  (Search “hummingbird,” at: <
>>> www.fws.gov/endangered/wildlife.html>)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *Pollinator Tidbits: Hummingbirds are native only to the New World
>>> and pollinate plants with red, orange, and yellow tube-like flowers.
>>>  "Ornithopily" describes plant-bird pollination syndromes, including those
>>> involving hummingbirds.
>>>
>>> Patricia S. De Angelis, Ph.D.
>>> Botanist, Division of Scientific Authority-US Fish & Wildlife
>>> Service-International Affairs
>>> Chair, Medicinal Plant Working Group-Plant Conservation Alliance
>>> 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: IA
>>> Falls Church, VA 22041-3803
>>> 703-358-1708 x 1753
>>> 703-358-2276 (FAX)
>>>
>>> ---------------------------
>>> Tuesday, September 2, 2014 - 2:31pm
>>>
>>> TYLER, TEXAS (KETK) — A 53-year-old Dallas man has pleaded guilty to
>>> smuggling charges in a Tyler courtoom.
>>>
>>> Carlos Delgado Rodriguez was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 14,
>>> 2014, and charged with smuggling dead hummingbirds from Mexico into the
>>> United States.
>>>
>>> According to the indictment, from February 2013 through January 2014,
>>> Rodriguez is alleged to have unlawfully imported approximately 61 dead
>>> hummingbirds, of various varieties, into the United States for sale. The
>>> five-count indictment specifically alleges that the importation of dead
>>> hummingbirds violates the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
>>> Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Migratory Bird Treaty Act
>>> (MBTA), the Lacey Act, the federal smuggling law, and Texas State Law.
>>>
>>> If convicted, Rodriguez faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
>>>
>>> Rodriguez pleaded guilty August 27, 2014.
>>>
>>> A date for sentencing has not been set.
>>>
>>> http://www.ketknbc.com/news/crimewatch/tx-man-pleads-guilty-to-smuggling-dead-hummingbird
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Pollinator mailing list
>>> Pollinator at lists.sonic.net
>>> https://lists.sonic.net/mailman/listinfo/pollinator
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> Associate Professor
>> Dept of Biological Science
>> Old Dominion University
>> Norfolk, VA 23529
>> lhorth at odu.edu
>>
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>>
>>
>
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